DEBATE: In light of the Barclays protests, are climate activists right to target financial institutions? March 5, 2020 In light of the Barclays protests, are climate activists right to target financial institutions? Adrienne Buller, economist and research fellow at the Common Wealth think tank, says YES. Last week, a leaked JP Morgan report acknowledged that, in a world of accelerating temperature rise, “we cannot rule out catastrophic outcomes where human life as we [...]
Corporate governance at Travelex owner questioned over links to NMC Health founder March 4, 2020 Ongoing financial turmoil and questions over its corporate governance structures have caused analysts to downgrade the credit rating of money transfer giant Travelex, amid ties to troubled firm NMC Health through its founder. NMC founder and former chief executive BR Shetty and his son own 66 per cent of shares in Finablr — the sole [...]
Next Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey: Firms should expect coronavirus help March 4, 2020 The next Bank of England governor has said Threadneedle Street and the government is likely to provide loans to small and medium-sized firms to help them deal with supply chain disruptions from the coronavirus outbreak. Andrew Bailey told MPs that coronavirus was “going to be the first most pressing issue that we face”. He added [...]
Andrew Bailey says he is ‘proud’ of record as FCA chief March 4, 2020 The incoming Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has defended his record as head of the City watchdog, saying he is “proud of what we’ve achieved” but “not proud of some things that happened”. Critics say Bailey did not deal adequately with a number of financial scandals that occurred on his watch as chief executive [...]
Andrew Bailey urged to keep climate focus at Bank of England March 3, 2020 Incoming Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey must maintain Threadneedle Street’s concern with climate change after he takes over this month, more than 101 economists, scientists and industry leaders have said in a letter. Signatories to the letter, organised by left-leaning research and campaign groups, include former UK chief scientific adviser Sir David King and [...]
The private sector can be the engine of the low-carbon revolution March 3, 2020 When Al Gore made An Inconvenient Truth in 2006, he pointed to the fact that the Chinese characters for “crisis” signify both “danger” and “opportunity”. In the years since, the conversations around tackling climate change have often been framed by what industries and governments stand to lose in the immediate future by acting. Advocates have [...]
StanChart chairman ‘sounds out’ banking executives to replace boss Bill Winters March 3, 2020 Standard Chartered chairman Jose Vinals has reportedly approached banking executives this year in a bif to gauge their interest in replacing current chief executive Bill Winters. Vinals has been sounding out possible candidates from companies in Britain, southeast Asia, and Europe, according to Bloomberg, in a search that is not currently part of any formal [...]
Bank of England expects to internal report on audio feed misuse in April March 3, 2020 The Bank of England expects an internal report into misuse of its audio feeds to go the bank’s directors in April, after it emerged that hedge funds were able to access a market-sensitive feed ahead of its official broadcast. Outgoing governor Mark Carney told the Treasury committee today that he expected the BoE’s court — [...]
Jupiter adds to pressure on Barclays over fossil fuel financing March 3, 2020 Jupiter Asset Management has backed a landmark shareholder resolution calling on Barclays to stop financing fossil fuel producers that are not aligned with the Paris Agreement climate goals. Jupiter, which is one of Barclays’ top-25 shareholders, has joined 11 other institutional investors and over 100 individual shareholders in backing the motion, which is thought to [...]
Goldman Sachs builds up 8.5 per cent voting rights in Metro Bank March 2, 2020 Goldman Sachs has built up 8.48 per cent voting rights in troubled British lender Metro Bank, according to regulatory filings. Metro Bank’s share price has collapsed almost 90 per cent since early 2019, when it disclosed an almost £1bn accounting error. The challenger bank plunged to a £131m loss last year following the scandal, which [...]